Lancia de Pace
Lancia de Pace is a heavily populated country in southern Terrestria, located on the Dettatali Peninsula. The county is ancient, its founding tracing back at least two thousand and five-hundred years ago. The country is named after the legendary ruler of the Sunlit Era Luciano Lancia de Pace. History The history of Lancia de Pace is split into three distinct eras. Dawn Era The Dawn Era makes up a large chunk of Lancia de Pace's history, reaching approximately 1400 years in length. The area had been called 'Dettatali' in the old tongue, or 'Rocky Villages', because most ancient settlements sat in the northern mountains of the peninsula. Human inhabitants of Dettatali migrated in from nomadic tribes of the central Terrestrian plains and areas that now compose modern Rotan. These human tribes slowly developed into city states, the most prominent being the mountain settlement Tulli, or 'city'. The city of Tulli became the waypoint of ancient trade between the verdant farmlands of the peninsula and the ancient civilizations to the north and east. Because of the Detta mountains no country could reliably attack the cities without great hardship to their armies in turn. Land attacks were near unthinkable given the harsh route between Dettatali and the rest of Terrestria. This allowed the burdgeoning culture in the area to grow and thrive without too many outside threats. Lancia de Pace's mysticism and religion developed during the Dawn Era. A polytheistic belief system arose from the different city states of the country worshiping specific gods. These would all eventually group together into a pantheon of respected gods. These gods had temples in specific city state towns and each a unique history. Sunlit Era The Sunlit Era begins with the unification of the city states composing the Dettatali Peninsula under the leadership of Luciano Lancia de Pace. Unification was orchestrated through conquest developed by the Minat general. It's said Luciano Lancia de Pace's success was anointed by the gods, as his method of conquest itself attributed to a later religious practice known as the Great Pilgrimage. After conquest Lancia de Pace established a monarchy ruling over the governors of each province area, claiming a right to rule given by the gods. To prove this, Luciano created the capital city of the country on a lake. This city, named after Luciano's wife Aweso, blossomed into a massive trade hub and marvel, as the city itself had no actual roads but canals and waterways to travel from one place to another. After the unification the newly named Lancia de Pace the country itself went through an explosion of cultural development. Reverence to the gods encouraged arts and architectural advancements which were funded by a healthy agriculture and fishing industry. This also coincided with the development of mining practices and discovery of a rich marble and gold sources in the Dettatali mountains. Development of the arts consequently lead to an interest in reflecting natural beauty and understanding nature. Through art the development of sciences and math came about to explain methods of aesthetics and stability. Engineering the many temples and impressive classical buildings of Lancia de Pace would have been impossible without the advancements, including the impressive Temple of the Ocean God erected in Piesca. The temple itself holds an ancient barometer which could often predict weather patterns before storms could be apparent. The Sunlit Era existed for as long as the Lancian bloodline traced from Luciano Lancia de Pace. The end of the era is collectively believed to be with the untimely death of the last heir of the six-hundred year Lancian legacy. Gero Lancia de Pace is said to have died of suspicious circumstances at the age of thirteen, only six months after his parents perished from the then-devastating Rat Flu which tore through Lancia de Pace's population. Many who hold religious beliefs in modern Lancia de Pace believe that the Lancian line had done some great injustice against the Gods who favored their rule for centuries by sending the plague and allowing the line to die out. Scholars meanwhile see the circumstances as an unfortunate combination of an ill timed outbreak and political enemies which sought to dethrone the Lancians (and successfully did). Dusk Era After the death of the last Lancia de Pace a political vacuum existed that several governors attempted to fill, citing marriages or faint bloodline connections to the dead prime Lancian line. This era of political unrest lasted for roughly two hundred years as the hardline monarchy shifted into a representative parliment led by individual representatives of the different regions of the country. Unfortunately, the gridlock of policy and lack of a political spearhead left the goverment weak and ineffectual, giving rise of individual groups colluding together to organize businesses, act as police or justice factions, or create economic policy. These groups, called 'Families' eventually infiltrated and dismantled the failed and corrupt government. They now currently run Lancia de Pace itself. Culturally faith dwindled in the gods and Lancians look to entertainment to avoid the realities of their decayed society. Music itself has become a hot ticket commodity with Lancia de Pace holding a thriving music industry. Consequently, however, theater and acting is considered low art and treated as a novelty than a serious form of entertainment. Television is relegated namely to broadcasting a variety of musical stations, news, or documentaries. Religion Though secularism has infiltrated Lancia de Pace in modern times the official religion for most of the country's history surrounded the worship of a pantheon of gods. Lancians would worship at specific temples dedicated to individual gods and goddesses. A traditional religious rite, practiced rarely nowadays, is the Great Pilgrimage where a Lancian upon reaching twenty years old would travel the country to each temple to pay homage to each great god or goddess. Not doing so or skipping a temple was considered taboo and very bad luck that could invite the ire of one or all of the gods. The High Pantheon Caspiritide, patron god of Piesca and leader of the pantheon. Caspiritide is the god of ocean, rivers, prosperity, and even life. Described as 'very beautiful' it was said that Caspiritide would visit Piesca during the fish migration periods and oddly during the rainy season. He's credited with the development of fishing techniques and boating advances in the Dawn Era, all 'gifts' to the inhabitants of Dettatali. Statuary of him resembles fishmen of today with large elaborate fins resembling a lionfish. Modern scholars believe Caspiritide was a real fishman, part of a nomadic fishman tribe who visited Piesca while following the fish migration patterns. Myno, patron goddess of Minat and second in command of the pantheon. Myno is the goddess of the earth, mountains, war, and death. Often referred to as violent and unforgiving, Myno is said to be the cause of earthquakes and sinkholes that destroyed many old villages in Dettatali at the time. Depicted with large curving horns, wild dreadlocked hair, and a massive axe, Myno was greatly feared by the inhabitants of Dettatali but often invoked by individuals wishing for her to bless their victory in battle or war. Every year in the Dawn Era, bloodsport battles were conducted to appease her lust for blood which would seep into the earth. Like Caspiritide, its theorized that Myno was a real Minotaurus in the Dawn Era and had come from Mo'Gallile to conquer someplace for herself as personal challenge of her strength. This is supported by Myno's ancient ruins which are labyrinthine in make compared to modern Myno. Spyre, patron god of Tulli. Spyre is the god of knowledge, fire, food, and time. He is credited with the discovery of fire, being a god which gifted the knowledge to people to help them survive. He is also credited with the discovery of cooking using flame. While Spyre has positive attributes, he is often portrayed as forgetful and gullible which causes hardships like wildfires or loss of memory. Spyre is depicted as a normal human often carrying a scroll which is said to hold the answer to any question. Unlike the first two of the pantheon he isn't considered to be a real person but is arguably the oldest god in the pantheon regardless. Spira, patron goddess of Occole (destroyed). Spira is the goddess of nature, sky, balance, and art. Considered the sister of Spyre, Spira is considered the capricious muse who created everything in the sky. It's said she made the stars and moon to bring light to the night, and clouds to bring shade to the day. Spira is often considered a positive goddess but capable of great destruction when angered. Tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, and other unexplained and terrible weather phenomena are attributed to her fury with humanity for putting something out of balance. It's said art pleases her as it is a reflection of nature which she represents. This developed a strong artistic streak in Dettatali culture which persevered through the ages. Pynniti, patron goddess of Wafarom (destroyed). Pynniti is the goddess of mischief, change, revelry, and love. Pynniti is the prankster of the pantheon and like Spyre and Spira is considered to not be based off anyone from the past. Pynniti despite this is said to be a human who was elevated to the status of a deity after stealing and drinking a potion Spyre intended for his sister Spira. This placed Pynniti and Spira as mortal enemies, as where Spira looks for balance and peace Pynniti strives to cause chaos and change in her wake, often to throw things out of whack. Pynniti is always depicted with wine in hand and surrounded by an entourage of animal attendants. It is said a bee of peculiar nature would sting someone on her behest and cause the victim to fall in love with the first person they see next. (to be continued) Category:Locations